Manufacturing processes often generate noxious fumes during processing. These fumes are typically unwanted but inherent bi-products of the manufacturing process. For example, solvent fumes are typically emitted from baths used for washing metal parts. Manufacturing of electrical components and electronic circuit boards also creates noxious fumes which arise from the soldering activities of attaching and detaching electrical components in devices such as relays, power supplies, and the like, and electronic components to circuit boards. The fumes generated by soldering or desoldering of electrical/electronic components are at the very least an irritant to the worker. High concentrations of these fumes may cause illness. Government regulations require removal and venting of the fumes to protect workers.
Devices have been provided for removal of these fumes from the work place. One device uses a vacuum to extract fumes from soldering work areas and to pass the fumes through a filter. The fume filter includes a pleated pre-filter for removal of large particulates, a HEPA filter for removing particles down to about 0.3 micron, and an activated carbon filter for removal of volatile compounds and odors in the fumes. The vacuum and filter device connects through hoses to articulatable arms that mount adjacent the work stations. The arms comprise pivotally interconnected tubes with nozzles attached to distal ends. The nozzles typically are elongated tubes having a slit for communicating the fumes to the filter, although cylindrical nozzles and funnel nozzles are known. The worker soldering electronic components moves the articulatable arm to position the nozzle within a proximal area of the solder work. The vacuum apparatus induces a suction through the nozzle for pulling the solder fumes in the general area of the nozzle into the tube and to the filter apparatus.
Other fume removal devices attach a suction nozzle to the soldering iron adjacent the heating tip. The inlet of this vacuum device is thereby positioned adjacent the primary source of the solder fumes. A portion of the fumes however escape to the atmosphere.
While these devices have accomplished the purpose of removing some of the solder fumes from work stations, there are problems associated with their use. In particular, stand-alone vacuum devices require powerful motors to facilitate connection of lengths of tubes for multiple work stations. The removal of the solder fumes by the exhaust arms in the work areas is limited in the range of extraction due to the suction limitations of the vacuum devices. Typically the vacuums have relatively low suction pressures and therefore are capable of effecting removal of solder fumes from a limited area. As discussed below, low suction is required to reduce build-up of static electricity in the work area. As the worker places components on various parts of the circuit board, the distal portions of the work area away from the location of the nozzle may insufficiently experience the suction effects from the nozzle. Accordingly, some fumes are not collected and as a consequence, the worker must stop work and reposition the nozzle as the work progresses over the circuit board in the work area.
There are also drawbacks with placing the vacuum nozzle on the soldering iron. While the nozzle adjacent the heating tip provides recovery from the primary source of solder fumes, the heating tip is being continually cooled. This increases the time required to effect a solder joint. Also, the soldering iron is more bulky and with the suction hose is more difficult to handle than a soldering iron without such vacuum system. The suction hose in this device typically is of small diameter and tends to clog easily which reduces the effectiveness of removing solder fumes.
In addition to the need to remove and filter solder fumes, electronics manufacture also has a need to control or eliminate the problem of static electricity built-up in the work area. Assembling electronic components requires static-free environments in order to avoid the damaging effects on electronic components by discharge of static electricity which may destroy components such as IC chips and the like. Static electricity is created in a variety of ways. Air movement itself across a work area may create a build-up of static electricity. Air blowing on worker's hands can also create discomfort for the worker. Thus the suction in vacuum devices can not be so great as to induce significant air currents across the work area. The clothing and the body of workers also can create, hold, and discharge static electricity into electronic components. To reduce the risk of build-up and discharge of static electricity, workers are often electrically grounded to the work stations by ground straps.
It is thus seen that a need exists for an improved work station for removal of fumes while controlling build-up of static electricity. It is to the provision of such that the present invention is primarily directed.